Wisconsin native John Close grew up with racing in the 1950s, cheering on his father’s Jalopy stock cars four or five nights a week around the Badger State.
After earning a Journalism/Mass Communications degree from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, Close began covering racing events in the early 1980s. He worked his first NASCAR race as a professional media member in 1986 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Since then, Close (a former Associated Press newspaper sports editor at the Daily Jefferson County Union in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin) has written countless articles for top racing publications including Stock Car Racing, Circle Track, NASCAR Illustrated, and Speedway Illustrated magazines. His work has also appeared in National Speed Sport, Winston Cup Scene, Checkered Flag Racing News, and Midwest Racing News industry trade journals/newspapers.
In 1994, Close became a full-time NASCAR media member and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, to assume public relations duties for driver Bobby Labonte and the No. 22 Maxwell House Pontiac Winston Cup team. For the next two decades, Close facilitated and managed media and marketing projects for multiple NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series teams including Richard Petty Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, and Ultra Motorsports.
John Close sits in one of his father’s cars in the 1950s.
The biggest thrills in Close’s racing career came as a spotter in more than 150 NASCAR Cup, Nationwide, and Truck events from 1995 to 2008. His drivers finished in the top-10 in 25 percent of the NASCAR events he spotted; his best effort was a victory with driver Donny Lia in the 2008 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Mansfield, Ohio. Close also called many premiere short-track events around the country during this time including winning efforts in the Snowball Derby at Pensacola, Florida, and the Miller Nationals at Slinger, Wisconsin, with driver Rich Bickle.
Publisher’s Note: In reporting history, the images required to tell the tale will vary greatly in quality, especially by modern photographic standards. While some images in this volume are not up to those digital standards, we have included them, as we feel they are an important element in telling the story.
Regardless of what life path you choose, people along the way help guide the direction you go. Here are just a few individuals who shaped my life and career path. In one way or another, each has helped make this book possible.
Lou Close: My dad, and the man who instilled in me the love of fast cars.
Vince Sweeney, Tom Beebe, John Quinn, Phil Hall, Hal Hamrick, Steve Waid, Ben White, Dick Berggren, Chris Economaki, and Glen Grissom: great editors who provided opportunities for me to be a motorsports journalist.
Dick Moore, Wayne Erickson, Terry Tucker, and the Deery family (Jody, Tom, Jack, David, and Chuck): Midwest track promoters who provided racing-related public relations opportunities early in my career.
Dennis Huth: former NASCAR Winston Racing Series and Craftsman Truck Series director who championed my entrance into NASCAR.
Tom Cotter: NASCAR Public Relations firm manager who provided my first NASCAR Winston Cup PR job in 1994.
Benny Parsons, Buddy Baker, and Neil Bonnett: NASCAR legends who befriended and mentored me as a NASCAR “newbie.”
Rich Bickle: Wisconsin superstar short-track racer who redirected my life totally when he made me his NASCAR race-day spotter.
Jim Gresham: true gentleman, racer, and friend who provided great opportunities for me in the “twilight” of my professional motorsports career.
Gail and Sam Close: my wife and son, who have provided a life with me I would have never dreamed possible.
The basic definition of a fact is “a piece of information that is known to be true.”
The greatest mathematical minds have determined the number of facts to be infinite.
People love facts and support every imaginable topic with countless facts every day.
There are even special ways of stating our facts.
“I know for a fact.”
“The fact is . . .”
“It’s a well/little known fact.”
“Due to the fact that . . .”
“The fact remains.”
Okay, you get the picture.
It’s always all about the facts, right?
Heck, let’s just admit it. We’re addicted to facts.
Fortunately, facts aren’t much of a health hazard unless you don’t have them right. If that’s the case, you better be ready to hear, “Get your facts straight.” Or “Stick to the facts!”
Always remember to be very careful when you question someone else’s facts. If you use the wrong tone to ask someone “Is that a fact?” you’d better be prepared for an argument or worse, a fight over the “facts.”
In the end, all this talking about facts and how important they are is a bit silly because, as we all know, “The facts speak for themselves.”
As one of America’s most popular forms of professional motorsports today, NASCAR can trace its roots back to the late 1800s and the beginning of the motoring age. That history, along with eight decades of organized NASCAR races, milestones, equipment evolution, and personalities has created a list of amazing facts. Breaking them down to just 1,001 was one heck of a challenge.
“That’s a fact, Jack.”
Enjoy the book.
Early cars were hardly anything you’d consider strapping on for some hot laps at Darlington, Bristol, or Talladega. They were little more than motorized horse carriages created by eccentric “tinkerers.” By 1900, more than 100 different brands of cars were available and they were offered in all sorts of configurations.
Then, as now, you only needed two cars to race. The earliest races were total “run what ya brung” events contested on primitive roads and later at developed “driving parks.” Most early races were time trials, hill climbs, or endurance runs. Eventually, as the automobile became more prevalent at the turn of the century, oval racetracks began to spring up around the country.
During the Roaring Twenties, tracks of all kinds appeared across the nation as a speed-crazy culture contributed to one of America’s most explosive decades. Races were held everywhere with most still featuring purpose-built, high-speed racers.
Racing stock cars off the assembly line became more prevalent in the 1930s. For as little as $5, a thrill-seeking daredevil could buy an old roadster, coupe, or sedan at the junkyard, get it running, and take it racing at